Media Statements

We are disappointed that Cardinal Angelo Sodano is leading prayer todmorrow. Given how integral he has been to the cover-up of crimes against children, especially those of Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, we feel that he should step aside and let another prelate take his place.

We believe that the Cardinals should not just be briefed on this dossier, but should get to read the entire thing. We also believe that the dossier should be made public. Transparency is always the best policy.

Cardinal George suggests that few priests s molest kids these days. That's simply not true. Bishops in a tiny percentage of western nations have in recent years pledged ''zero tolerance." That promise is often broken.

We urge Catholic officials to make real – not symbolic – reforms that protect children and expose wrongdoing. At the same time, however, sometimes even a small gesture can bring some healing to suffering victims and betrayed Catholics. And sometimes, when wrongdoers experience even slight consequences, it can help deter future wrongdoing

Roughly 90 prelates - too old to vote in the conclave - will take part in the General Congregation of Cardinals meetings. SNAP believes that a number of them (Sodano, Connell, Egan, Castrillón Hoyos, Law, McCarrick, and others) are guilty of - or credibly accused of - protecting child molesting clerics. Their peers should push them to stay home, or they should do so voluntarily, the group feels, for the sake of the church and to avoid heaping more pain on wounded victims and betrayed Catholics.

Today, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed an alternate report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child documenting the ongoing worldwide sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. The UN committee has summoned the Vatican to report on its record of ensuring children are protected from sexual violence and safeguarding children’s well-being and dignity, the first time the Holy See will have been called to account for its actions on these issues before an international body with authority. The first meeting will take place in Geneva in June.

Very sadly, today, Benedict XVI finished his time as Pope without ever once apologizing for his involvement in covering up the crimes of Fr. Lawrence Murphy, who sexually assaulted me and over 200 other students when we were youngsters at St. John’s boarding school for the deaf, operated by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.